The Space Between
by Nerdellect
Summary: If Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had been aware of the story of the Ōtsutsuki siblings and the horrors its eventual conclusion would bring to Konohagakure no Sato, he would have had Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Senju Sadashi's infantile heads bashed against the gates of Konoha the second they left their mothers' wombs. [Female Senju OC / Female Ōtsutsuki Sibling]
1. Shibaraku!

**WARNING:** This story is rated **M** for a reason. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here: there will be blood.

 **FEMALE OC WARNING:** I hate to have to write this warning, but I've seen a lot of authors given crap over female original characters on this website, so I want to get this out of the way ASAP. This is your first, and only, warning: my female character **will** be powerful. By the end of the series, she will be on par with both Sasuke and Naruto in terms of skill. If you don't like that kind of thing, and prefer you damsels always in distress, then I suggest you skip this story.

 **A/N:** This fic came about due to the very, shall we say, _masculine_ , ending of the Naruto series. I realize that Naruto was a Shōnen manga and therefore directed at young men, but damn it I followed that thing for 13 years only for it to end in a love fest between two men with god-like powers with the women regulated to stay-at-home moms. (Hell, even Kaguya works from home for like 99% of the series.)

 **Best read in 1/3 or 1/2 and Contrasted.**

* * *

 ** _Prologue_**

 _If Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had been aware of the story of the Ōtsutsuki siblings and the horrors its eventual conclusion would bring to Konohagakure no Sato, he would have had Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Senju Sadashi's infantile heads bashed against the gates of Konoha the second they left their mothers' wombs._

 _As it was, by the time the Sandaime Hokage came to power, the names Indora, Ashura, and Kaijora had faded into the realms of folklore and myth, and thus he knew nothing of the bloodshed their rebirths foretold._

* * *

 _._

 **Chapter I**

 _Shibaraku!_

 _._

Despite what his classmates would later come to believe, Uzumaki Naruto did not spend the majority of his childhood in a cacophony of sound.

From the ages of one to six, he did his best to remain quiet and unnoticed by those around him. It was an easy thing to accomplish—he was small for his age and therefore easily lost in a crowd, and after the Kyūbi's attack six years ago, Konohagakure's orphanage had many, _many_ crowds—but he liked to think he had a special talent for it.

Not only was Naruto _good_ at hiding, he _liked_ hiding. It was one of the few shinobi skills that came naturally to him.

People, it seemed, just didn't **see** him like they did other children.

It had been an extremely long time—for a six-year-old, anyway—since Uzumaki Naruto had been noticed by someone he didn't _want_ to notice.

He is understandably surprised when someone does.

.

.

.

There's a girl staring at him.

Her eyes are _gold_ and big and **staring right at him**.

She has the lightest colored hair he's ever seen on a person.

It's pale and white and _glowing_. Like a halo made of light.

It's beautiful, but Naruto almost doesn't care because **no one was supposed to know he was** **here** and now someone's **staring right at him**.

But that _hair_.

 _Maybe she's like, really old?_ He thinks.

Naruto squints, blue eyes scanning her hair with shinobi-like skepticism from his not-so-hidden position beneath Tamaki-san's onion cart. She looks his age, but he's never seen a little girl with white hair before and is understandably suspicious.

 _She could be an enemy ninja!_ His eyes widen.

The golden eyed not-little-girl tilts her head.

He blinks up at her.

She blinks down at him.

Uzumaki Naruto frowns suspiciously.

The not-little-girl raises a pale eyebrow, seemingly unperturbed by his distrustful gaze. In fact, she looks _rather board_ for someone who's just discovered a boy hiding beneath an onion stand.

 _Definitely an enemy ninja_ , he thinks confidently.

"You doing okay down there?" She asks.

"I'm fine." Naruto replies, discreetly glancing around for Tamaki-san's sandal-clad feet. He doesn't want to be caught between an enemy shinobi _and_ an angry shopkeeper. He could totally handle it, but it never hurt a ninja to be cautious.

"Okay."

She's walking away.

Naruto blinks.

"W-wait!" He calls, scrambling to catch up with her.

She's suspiciously fast for a girl.

He adds another red checkmark to his mental _This Person is Totally an Enemy Ninja_ checklist.

"Ch-chotto matte!"

The not-little-girl slows slightly, glancing at him from the corner of her golden eyes. She's carrying some type of rectangular wooden box under her right arm and a small, velvet pouch in her left hand.

He bets that's where she keeps her secret-evil-ninja weapons.

"Hmm? You need something, Stranger-san?" She asks casually, swinging her secret-evil-ninja-weapons bag as she walks.

"Yeah!" He yells, wincing at the volume of his own voice in the relatively subdued atmosphere of the outer market district. "Y-yeah," he repeats more quietly, scratching the back of his head in mild embarrassment, "how did you know I was there? Under Tamaki-san's cart, I mean."

"I notice things." She says simply.

Naruto scowls at her non-answer, eyes roaming up and down her suspicious form.

Deep blue yukata with black vajra around the collar tied together by a slim, cream colored obi; white hair pulled into a braid that falls to her mid-back; rice-straw zōri on her small, bare feet; the smell of ozone and rain, like the air after a mid-summer thunderstorm; **a mysterious wooden rectangle tucked under her arm and a small, crushed-velvet bag swinging in her hand**.

 _Who is this person? She's kinda…interesting._

"You okay, Stranger-san?"

She makes an abrupt turn down an unfamiliar side-street as she talks, bringing them closer to an unfamiliar district of Konoha. The buildings are starting to look distinctively more…upscale than those surrounding the orphanage.

Naruto pauses only briefly before hurrying to follow after her.

"I'm fine." He says, glancing nervously at the fancy architecture.

Fancy houses mean rich people. Rich people mean gated communities and clan compounds. Gated communities and clan compounds mean civilian guards and sentinel-shinobi. Civilian guards and sentinel-shinobi mean bruised knuckles and black eyes.

"I'm glad." She glances at him beneath dark eyelashes. "Is there a particular reason you're following me, Stranger-san?"

Naruto blinks.

Her tone is just **so casual**.

It confuses him.

"Naruto," he blurts, whipping his suddenly sweaty palms on his light green pants. "My name's Naruto, not Stranger-san."

"Naruto then," the not-little-girl smiles.

Inadvertently, he can feel his cheeks warm.

 _She's kinda pretty_ , he realizes abruptly, blue eyes snapping to glare resolutely to his sandal-clad feet. Enemy ninja aren't supposed to be _pretty_ , not like she is. They're not supposed to be _girls_ either, now that he really thinks about it.

His research—manga reading—had not prepared him for this.

"Is there a particular reason you're following me, Naruto-san?" She asks again.

Scowling, Naruto begins to explain the story of Tora-teme and the long chain of events that eventually lead to him hiding under Tamaki-san's onion cart. As he speaks, he notices that the not-little-girl's attention seems to drift, flowing between him, the street, and some internal monologue he isn't privy to.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" He asks loudly, affronted.

The passing civilians glare.

Naruto shifts closer to the white-haired girl's side.

The not-little-girl returns her eyes to him. "You were rudely accosted by a demon-cat on your way home from the park. Running for your life, you made your way to one of the 'awesomest' hiding places in the village: the market district, where you hid under Tamaki-san's onion cart. You saw me, assumed I was an enemy ninja, and decided to follow."

Well then…

Well…

"It was a smart choice," she continues, seemingly unaware of the blonde boy's embarrassment. "The onion cart, I mean. It was clever of you to use the onions to hide your scent."

Despite himself, a grin blooms across Naruto's face at the praise.

He had never been, well, _complemented_ for his hiding skills before. While not impolite, the caretakers at Konohagakure's orphanage had never been particularly _attentive_ to him.

They always seemed to be leaving him to his own devices.

And they were always **looking through him** when they spoke to him, as if they weren't really speaking to _him_ , but to a caricature of him.

Like an actor who had failed at his role.

Once, when Naruto was four years old, the orphanage took him and the other children to see a free Kabuki performance at the Konohagakure theatre. He doesn't remember much of _Kanjinchō_ —that particular play had _way too much talking_ in his opinion—but he does remember _Shibaraku_.

Kamakura Kagemasa had just looked so _grand_ in his red-and-white makeup and brightly-colored jinbaori. He had commanded everyone's attention, the whole theatre had fallen quiet when he stepped on stage, and Naruto could almost _feel_ the anticipation of the crowd as they waited for Kagemasa to shout his most famous line.

The great warrior opened his mouth—

 ** _Clap! Clap!_** went the hyōshigi.

—"Shi-shibaraku!" Stuttered Kagemasa.

Naruto had been stunned, eyes widened by trepidation and second-hand embarrassment.

The great warrior Kamakura Kagemasa _didn't stutter_.

The crowd had been equally flabbergasted.

But **that look** on their faces.

A mix between fear and indignation; of unmet expectations and disappointment; of righteous indignation and unmasked _rage_.

It was so…familiar.

"Well, this is my stop."

The voice breaks Naruto from his thoughts, leaving him to stare confusedly at his surroundings.

Despite its obvious opulence, the clan district of Konohagakure no Sato is relatively _homey_ when compared to the much more recent, and much more industrial, portions of the village. Instead of concrete and steel, there is wood and iron. Instead of t-shirts and pants, there are kimono and hakama. Instead of hair-clips and ponytails, there are kanzashi and wareshinobu.

 _It's like a play_ , he thinks dazedly, glancing around wondrously. _Like something from_ Shibaraku _._

"Naruto-san…?"

Naruto clears his throat nervously.

"Hehehehe." He scratches the back of his head, turning to look at the not-little-girl sheepishly. "Sorry about that, I got lost in..."

He trails off.

The not-little-girl has stopped in front of a large, wooden archway with a red gate. The pillars, which appear to be made from two large Hashirama trees, have the palest bark Naruto has ever seen. They are _old_ trees, he realizes, perhaps even as old as Konohagakure itself, with boughs so weighed down by bright, blood-colored leaves that they hang and sway like Sakura branches in the warm, summer breeze.

As he stares, the wind releases a few copper-tinged leaves to float and drift as they please.

Bright blue eyes follow as one comes to rest softly atop the not-little-girl's head.

"What's your name?' Naruto asks.

He is suddenly, _painfully_ aware of just how rude he's been.

"Senju Sadashi," she says, reaching up to gently pluck the leaf from her hair. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-san."

The little girl smiles.

Uzumaki Naruto smiles back.

"N-nice to meet you too, Sadashi-chan."

.

.

.

 _I didn't think of that scent thing though…_

Naruto keeps smiling.

.

.

.

"So, how's Kitsune-gaki duty treating you this fine summer day?"

Inoshishi glances at his partner from his crouched positon atop Konoha Toshokan before returning his gaze to the market below, allowing a small hum to fall from beneath his chakra-plated mask.

"That boring, huh?" Washi asks, his spiky brown hair waving slightly in the warm breeze.

Inoshishi hums again, distinctly moody.

" _Really_ boring then," his partner concludes correctly.

Inoshishi grunts, his eyes narrowing towards his current charge. No matter how much that Hatake bastard might insist otherwise—

 _"Think of all the reading you'll get done, Ino-chan!"_

—Inoshishi knows that Kitsune-gaki duty is firmly in the "punishment" category of the Hokage's mental catalog of Anbu assignments.

He briefly wonders what he did to draw the Sandaime Hokage's ire.

He quickly remembers The Pipe Incident of two weeks before and finds his answer.

 _I didn't even know he **had** a special pipe…_

"Aww, look!" His partner practically coos, successfully breaking Inoshishi out of his depressing thoughts. "The Kitsune-gaki's making a friend."

Stanchly ignoring the voice in his head telling him that his partner sounds entirely _too_ gleeful to be a member of Konoha's respected Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai forces, Inoshishi quickly focuses his attention to the onion cart across the street.

 _Huh_ , he thinks in mild disbelief, _Washi's right. Looks like the kid might actually be making a friend..._

Had his charge been anyone other than the Kyūbi's jinchūriki, the prospect of him making a new friend might not have seemed so strange.

Children, Inoshishi knows, and particularly ninja children, are ridiculously adept at forming new bonds. In fact, most of the games favored by shinobi children require at least _some_ form of teamwork to be properly played, making them fertile ground for fledgling friendships and newly-sprung rivalries.

As inclusive as Konohagakure games are, however, they are no match for a child's ingrained nature to obey, or the sharp words of a parent.

 _Fucking civilians_ , Inoshishi thinks, a little spiteful, _no concept of Fūinjutsu at all…_

Out of habit, the Anbu-nin scans the edges of the park for pretty glaring eyes and clinched hands on feminine hips. Women could be vicious for many reasons, but nothing brought out their cruelty more than a perceived threat to their young.

To the civilian mothers of Konohagakure, the Kitsune-gaki would **always** be perceived as a threat.

 _Smart of him to use the onions like that though…_

"Oh, shit," Washi mutters. "It's _that_ girl."

Inoshishi snaps his masked face towards the vegetable cart once more.

A little girl with pale white hair stares down at a little boy with bright blue eyes.

There is a strange look on the little boy's face, Inoshishi notes, an odd blend between hopefulness and suspicion with just a hint of awe. Like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time.

Ridiculously, Inoshishi suddenly feels like an intruder.

"…Senju." Washi murmurs from his side, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

"Aa."

The counsel was _not_ going to be happy about this.

Not that it would really matter; if the little Senju really wanted to be friends with the Kitsune-gaki then friends they would be.

Being de facto heir to the most important clan in the history of Konohagakure no Sato left you with a lot of leeway as far as the council was concerned.

But Kami-sama the _bitching_.

"Should we, uh, I don't know, do anything?" His partner asks.

Inoshishi watches as the Kyūbi Jinchūriki follows the Senju clan heir out of the market district like a lost puppy.

"Leave it be," he says finally, standing from his crouched position. "The council will deal with it as they see fit."

.

.

.

And oh god _the bitching_.

.

.

.

Fin

* * *

 **Translations / Definitions:**

I _will not_ be providing the English translations to common Japanese words used in the Naruto fandom (gaki, baka, jiji, etc.) as I'm sure most of you already know what they mean. I _will_ provide translations to lesser-known words and Jutsu names, especially those that are original to this story (of which there will be many).

 **"Ch-chotto matte!"** – _W-wait a little while! (With no kudasai because Naruto's a rude gaki.)_

 **"Sh-shibaraku!"** – _S-stop a moment!_

.

 **Vajra** – Essentially a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shaped top, or they may be separate and end in sharp points with which to stab. The vajra is used symbolically by the dharma traditions of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. In Sanskrit, Vajra means both thunderbolt and diamond.

The Senju clan symbol resembles the vajra **_very closely_** (hint hint Naruto).

 **Zōri** – flat, thonged sandals traditionally made of rice straw.

 ** _Kanjinchō_** – A humorous play following the great warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his follower Benkei's (eventually successful) attempt to talk their way through a gate guarded by an enemy nobleman.

 ** _Shibaraku_** – A short Kabuki piece (usually performed between full plays) that centers on the figure of Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa, a famous warrior. The climactic moment of _Shibaraku_ takes place when a samurai is being assaulted by a number of villains. Kagemasa shouts "Shibaraku!" from behind a curtain and then steps out in magnificent costume and makeup.

 **Jinbaori** – A kimono tabard (short, sleeveless coat) traditionally warn over Samurai armor.

 **Hyōshigi** – A simple Japanese musical instrument consisting of two pieces of hardwood or bamboo that are connected by a thin rope; Hyōshigi are usually played together or on the floor to create a distinctive cracking sound.

 **Kanzashi** – Hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles.

 **Wareshinobu** – The traditional hairstyle of a maiko or hangyoku (an apprentice geiko or geisha respectively).

 **Konoha Toshokan** – Konohagakure's civilian library (literally _Tree Leaf Library_ ).

 **My Japanese is rudimentary at best; if you find any mistakes (you will) please let me know and I'll be sure to correct** **them ASAP.**

* * *

 **A/N:** This story written is a very different style than my other stories. I'm usually a very detail oriented author who loves very long sentences and flowery descriptions. I decided to try something different with this one. As such, chapters will tend to be both shorter and more introspective.

 **Like, review, tell me you hate me—just give me some feedback please!**


	2. Silver and Gold

**WARNING:** This story is rated **M** for a reason. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here: there will be blood.

 **A/N:** The **notes at the end of chapters are usually important**. They provide context and explanation canonical changes, so please skim over them if you have the time.

 **Best read in 1/3 or 1/2 and Contrasted.**

* * *

.

 **Chapter II**

 _Silver and Gold_

.

Nara Shikamaru sighs from his place on the steps of the Senju main house, glaring impatiently up at the, regrettably cloudless, late-afternoon sky. Senju Sadashi— _de facto_ clan heir to the once-great Senju clan, adopted granddaughter of Konohagakure no Sato's Sandaime Hokage, his only friend outside of the Nara clan—is **late**.

It's times like these that Shikamaru wonders why he even bothers.

Pre-Sadashi Shikamaru—because there **is** a difference, and no matter how much he may dislike it, it would be stupid of him not to acknowledge it—had been perfectly happy to spend his pre-academy years alone, content in the knowledge that someday, he would find friendship in the male members of his class.

There had just been _no point_ to forming bonds outside his family prior to entering the academy; not only were they unlikely to last, but they also required an inordinate amount of effort to maintain, making them both impractical and unrewarding.

Pre-Sadashi Shikamaru, he is able to acknowledge now, was a bit of an idiot.

 _Mendokusē_ , he thinks.

 _"I-I'll see you later, Sadashi-chan! Don't forget your promise!"_

Shikamaru straitens at the sound of an unknown voice, dark eyes shifting to the cracked front gate. A male voice, he determines easily, and if the lack of pre-pubescent crackle is anything to go by (it most certainly is), then a young one at that.

A pale hand appears in the open doorway.

 _"I won't! Have a nice day, Naruto-san."_

A feminine voice—soft tenor, exemplary enunciation, calm familiarity—his friend's voice.

 _So that's why she was so late_ …

Still smiling at her unknown companion, Senju Sadashi steps through entrance to the Senju clan compound with a shiny new shōgi-ban tucked securely under her right arm and a crushed-velvet bag swinging carelessly from her left wrist.

Shikamaru stands.

"You're late," he calls, hands going unconsciously to his skinny hips. "I had to wait for _twenty minutes_."

The Senju starts, turning towards him with a bland expression on her face. Shikamaru suddenly feels a great deal of sympathy for his mother.

"Twenty minutes, you say?" She drawls questioningly, not looking the least bit contrite. "How ever did you survive, Shika-kun?"

Shikamaru continues to stare.

She sighs. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," she says finally, closing the gate behind her and moving to join him on the stone steps. "I met a blond boy on the run from a demon cat and got distracted. His name was Naruto."

The Nara heir blinks slowly. "Demon cat?" He asks, feeling uncharacteristically dumb.

"Tora-chan," Sadashi says gravely.

He nods in understanding. "Aa."

"Again, sorry for making you wait."

He shrugs. Although it _had_ been rather troublesome for him to have to wait for such a long time, he's too lazy to pester her further.

"Maa, I didn't really have anything else to do anyway," he says, eyes drifting towards the entrance of the main house in an effort to move things along. "It wasn't that troublesome." As he knew she would, his friend picks up on his non-verbal cue.

Swiftly moving to unlock the front doors, Sadashi urges him into the main house's genkan with an impatient sweep of her hand, mindful of the new Shōgi board clutched beneath her arm.

As he steps into the luxurious room, Shikamaru takes a moment to admire the sheer _size_ of the Senju clan's main house.

As the heir to one of Konohagakure no Sato's most important clans, Shikamaru is no stranger to traditional opulence—the main Nara house _is_ rather ridiculous, in his opinion—but he knows that the Nara clan's wealth is **nothing** compared to that of the Senju.

The grounds themselves—meticulously rebuilt and maintained by the Sandaime Hokage after the Kyūbi attack six years ago—span nearly three acres, taking up a substantial thirty percent of Konoha's clan district. To this day, they are the largest uninterrupted land claim in the history of Konohagakure no Sato.

Shikamaru knows that these lands have been in Sadashi's family since before the founding of Konoha, that the genkan he was so carelessly welcomed into not moments ago has also welcomed two men whose faces now decorate the surface of the Hokage monument.

It's a weighty feeling, Shikamaru muses, being in the presence of so much history. He wonders how Sadashi can stand it.

"Thanks for waiting on me, Shikamaru-kun," Sadashi says sincerely, placing her shoes in the getabako neatly. "I really didn't think it would take me that long at the market, but Naruto-san was just too much of an oddity to pass up."

 _You and your 'oddities_ ,' he thinks, glancing at her from beneath dark lashes. "I like the new board," he says, gesturing to the wooden shōgi-ban clutched in her hand. "Did you get new koma too?"

She grins triumphantly, holding up the crushed-velvet bag. "Shiny, new, and ready for my komadai! Be prepared to lose, Shika-kun."

"We'll see," he allows.

Sadashi chooses to ignore his subtle dismissal in favor of leading him through the Senju clan house.

He follows her in silence, eyes dancing over empty, low-lit rooms and scarcely-used corridors until they reach a small, comfortable side room set apart from the main living area by a pair of artistically carved shōji doors.

Sadashi pushes the pieces of art open almost carelessly, pausing to let Shikamaru enter the room first before sliding them closed behind her.

She places the new shōgi-ban on a low table in the middle of the room. "Sente or gote?" She asks, emptying the koma onto the board and moving to retrieving two large pillows from a recess shelf in the wall.

Shikamaru shrugs indifferently, taking the proffered cushion from her outstretched hand and placing it in front of his preferred side of the board. The white-haired girl mirrors him on the other side.

"Maa, it's too troublesome to choose," he sighs indolently, plopping himself down. "It's your turn to pick."

"Gote then," Sadashi nods firmly as she sits, cross-legged, atop her pillow. She slides the corresponding koma onto her section of the board with a sweep of her hand.

"You always choose white," Shikamaru accuses, moving to set up his own pieces. He lets his eyes drift unsubtly between her hair and her cream-colored obi. "I'm starting to see a theme here."

"Jealousy doesn't become you, Shikamaru-kun," Sadashi says, straitening her komadai primly. "You do 'lazy bum' much more justice."

"You're a very hurtful person," the Nara informs her casually.

Sadashi rightfully ignores him.

"Let's do this," she says once she's satisfied, treating him to a, rather dramatic, bow across the shōgi-ban.

Shikamaru rightfully ignore her.

"Ganbatte," he says formally, brown eyes suddenly intent.

"Ganbarimasu."

 ** _Click._**

 _Gold General I4 to H5._

 ** _Click._**

 _Pawn C3 to D3._

 ** _Click._**

 _Pawn G2 to F2._

 ** _Click._**

 _Rook to B5._

 ** _Click._**

"So, have you decided what you're going to do about the academy?" Sadashi asks after a few moments of amicable silence, her focus on the board in front of her. "Are you still planning on running away or have you found a better option?"

The Nara heir glances at her from across the shōji-ban, eyes scanning her downturned face. There is something almost… _sad_ behind her nonchalant expression, but for the life of him, Shikamaru can't decipher it.

"I was never _really_ planning on running away," he says finally. Sadashi knows this, of course, but for some reason unknown to him, he feels the need to reassure her anyway.

"It'd be too troublesome to run now anyway," he continues, his attention returning to the board. "We're almost in the academy; I'd be labeled a missing-nin."

 ** _Click._**

 _Rook to G2._

 ** _Click._**

 _Pawn C4 to D4._

 ** _Click._**

The white-haired girl laughs. "That and Shikaku-san would kill you, and that's _after_ Yoshino-san was done with you," she grins at him.

Shikamaru shudders at the thought.

Despite her chūnin status, Nara Yoshino, formerly Matsui, was _not_ a woman to be taken lightly.

"Cruel," he mumbles, and captures one of her pawns in retaliation. "You're a cruel woman."

"Aww," Sadashi practically pouts, eyes following her fallen piece as he places it on his komadai with a somewhat vengeful flourish. "Pawns fall too easily."

"They're useful," he says simply.

 ** _Click._**

 _Silver General I7 to H7._

 ** _Click._**

 _Silver General A3 to B4._

 ** _Click._**

"So…?" Sadashi prompts, raising a pale brow in question. "The academy?"

"Middle of the class; not too high, not too low," says the Nara, his dark eyes narrowing toward the girl's bishop. "It doesn't really matter for me anyway; I'll be put on Ino-Shika-Chō either way."

And it's true.

No matter how much or little effort he puts into his work at the academy, Nara Shikamaru will **always** end up on his generation's Ino-Shika-Chō trio. Akimichi Chōji and Yamanaka Ino's births six years prior had all but guaranteed that.

If the Nara heir had any ambitions of his own, he might have felt rather trapped by that prospect.

It's probably best that he doesn't.

 ** _Click._**

 _Pawn G5 to F5._

 ** _Click._**

 _White bishop captures black bishop; white bishop promoted to horse._

 ** _Click._**

"You?" Shikamaru asks, glaring mildly at her newly-promoted horse.

"Rookie of the Year," the white haired girl says with conviction. "There's never been a kunoichi Rookie of the Year before. I'm going to change that."

The dark-haired boy glances up at her before quickly returning his attention to the board. Sometimes, Shikamaru wonders what koma Sadashi represents.

When they first met, the Nara heir would have labeled her a lance. They are simple koma, lances. If not blocked by another piece, they can move forward any number of places without stop, but they cannot move backwards or to the side. When promoted, however, they have the same movement power as a gold general.

Nonetheless, a lance is not a forward vanguard. They cannot retreat, and are thus much more useful when left on the far side of the board, far away from the promotion zone and strategical problems that come with it.

Lances are **protectors** , the bodyguards of the more powerful and more important.

Senju Sadashi, Shikamaru has come to understand, is certainly _not_ a lance.

"Sounds troublesome," is all he says.

 ** _Click._**

 _Lance I1 to H1._

 ** _Click._**

 _Knight A2 to C3._

 ** _Click._**

"Maa, it won't be so bad," she retorts. "The hardest part will be feigning a believable interest in flower arrangements and tea ceremonies."

"They're useful skills for a woman to know," says Shikamaru, rather stupidly.

Golden eyes narrow.

"They're useless skills that should never be forced upon another human being, female or otherwise," he amends quickly.

Sadashi nods indulgently, as if congratulating a particularly slow child. "I'm glad that you're willing to lie to make it seem like you agree with me, Shikamaru-kun."

The heir to the great Nara clan grunts, shifting moodily on his pillow.

 _Women_ , the thinks in the safety of his own mind.

 ** _Click._**

 _King to H4._

 ** _Click._**

 _Rook to B9._

 ** _Click._**

 _Gold general H5 to I5._

 ** _Click._**

 _Pawn C7 to D7._

 ** _Click._**

 _White horse captures black king; game ends._

 ** _Click._**

"Mendokusē," Shikamaru groans loudly, glaring at the shōgi-ban. He feels faintly betrayed. "Only you would win using a horse. It's like you're _trying_ to insult me."

Sadashi grins cheekily. "Don't complain, Shikamaru-kun, I _could_ have done you in with a lance. You would've never been able to look Shikaku-san in the eyes again."

Shikamaru makes a low growling sound in the back of his throat, hoping that the animal noise will be enough to dissuade her from making any more disparaging comments.

It is not.

"Besides," she continues, heedless of the dark-eyed boy's efforts, "I couldn't let you win the first game played on _my_ new board."

His eyes lift to the heavens. If he believed in a kami, he would ask it to give him strength.

"I feel the need to remind you," he drawls, tapping irritably at the board with a lightly-tanned finger, "that our current win-loss ratio is thirty-two to twenty-eight, which places you four _substantial_ points below me."

Sadashi shrugs indifferently. "If you feel the need to bring up past vainglories in order to make yourself comfortable with your loss," she coos, "then I will not begrudge you, Shika-kun."

He sighs, his head falling into his cupped hands.

.

.

.

Three weeks later, Nara Shikamaru finds himself standing next to Senju Sadashi and Uzumaki Naruto as they and the rest of their class are welcomed into Konohagakure no Sato's ninja academy by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"You are the next generation of the village," the Sandaime is saying, his strong voice carrying over the small gathering of children and parents. "The leaves of the great tree of Konoha and the new bearers of the Will of Fire…"

"Blah, blah, blah!" Shikamaru hears Naruto grumble from Sadashi's left. "Can he get to the part about us becoming kickass ninja already?"

"Hush, Naruto-kun!" The white-haired girl shushes him, nudging him discreetly in the side. "It's called _ceremony_ ; you'll have to deal with it a lot if you want to become Hokage someday."

"Pfft! Like that'll ever happen! I'll just skip all this crap when _I'm_ Hokage."

The Nara heir sighs, eyes drifting towards the morning sun.

.

.

.

It's times like these that Shikamaru wonders why he even bothers.

.

.

.

Fin.

* * *

 **Translations / Definitions:**

 **"Mendokusē."** – The correct Japanese phrase is actually _mendōkusai_ , meaning "troublesome," but Shikamaru, being the lazy bum that he is, slurs the word to its shortest form, making it _mendokusē_. Shikamaru is literally too lazy to say his own catchphrase right.

 **"Ganbatte."** – _Do your best._

 **"Ganbarimasu."** – _I'll do my best._

.

 **Shōgi-ban** – A Shogi board.

 **Genkan** – A traditional Japanese entryway for a house, apartment, or building, like a combination of a porch and a doormat; they are usually rather large in traditional style homes.

 **Getabako** – A shoe cupboard usually situated in the genkan.

 **Koma** – Shogi pieces (King, Rook, Lances, etc.).

 **Sente; Gote** – _Sente_ , black: the person with the first move; _Gote_ , white: person with the second move.

 **Komadai** \- A wooden stand used for storing an opponent's captured koma during Shogi. Sadashi's proclamation that the koma are "Shiny, new, and ready for my komadai!" implies that all of the koma will eventually end up on her komadai, meaning she has captured all of Shikamaru's pieces.

 **My Japanese is rudimentary at best; if you find any mistakes (you will) please let me know and I'll be sure to correct** **them ASAP.**

* * *

 **Notes:**

 **(1)** The reason Sadashi is Shikamaru's "only" friend in this chapter is because although he is _aware_ of Chōji, he hasn't actually met him yet. He and Shikamaru will **still** be friends.

 **(2)** The Shogi strategy referred to by Shikamaru in his "Sadashi could totally be a lance" monologue is called _Anaguma_ , meaning "bear in the hole." In this strategy, the lance takes a protective position in front of the king, which then takes the lance's place in the corner of the board.

 **(3)** Did Sadashi win against Shikamaru? Yes! Although I do think that Shikamaru is very smart, I don't like it when he's written as an infallible Shogi god that can't be beaten. I don't necessarily mean to imply that Sadashi is more intelligent than him however, and I will go into detail about the differences in their intellect in later chapters (think of it as a Spock vs Kirk, 3D Chess kinda thing).

 **(4)** There doesn't seem to be a set age at which children enter the academy in the canon Naruto universe. Kishimoto tends to mix-up some ages along the way—Kakashi graduated at 5, and yet Itachi was only a student for a year and didn't graduated until he was 7—placing the general academy entrance age somewhere between 4 and 6.

Now, I don't know if Kishimoto has spent any time with _actual_ five-year-olds, but I find it kind of ridiculous that he made little Kakashi graduated at such a young age. I don't care how much of a genius you are, proper motor skills take _time_ to develop—much more than five years—and it is _physically impossible_ to outsmart the human body's natural growth stages.

So, to make things more coherent, and more believable, I set up the academy like this: in times of peace, civilian children (with the exception of Naruto) enter the academy at age five and clan children enter at age six. Why the extra year for the non-clan kids? Because clan children have a huge advantage over non-clan children when it comes to shinobi skills. They're surrounded by ninja for the majority of their early lives and many of them (Hyūga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, etc) have skills that cannot be taught at the academy.

* * *

 **A/N:** The name of this chapter, Silver and Gold, is a reference to the silver and gold generals found Shogi. Also, I haven't played Shogi in like, 3 years, and when I did play it was mostly just me flopping around uselessly on the board. Please don't hate me if I got some moves wrong.

The next chapter will be much more Sadashi oriented in a much less "learning about her from other people's POVs" kinda way.

 **Favorite** **, review, tell me you hate me—just give me some feedback please!**


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